Patrick Looney Poem by Francis Duggan

You've heard so many stories of when the west was young
And about the wild and free Land so many songs were sung
And back in the nineteen twenties and that's going back in time
Patrick Looney lived in Oregon when he was in his prime.

He left the fields and meadows of his home countryside
And from Gneeveguilla in east Kerry he travelled far and wide
The wanderlust was in his soul the far off hills were green
And as boys he told us stories of the things he'd done and seen.

He herded sheep in Oregon with his pack horse and his dog
And we marvelled at his stories around the burning log
For years the only roof he knew were the branches of tall tree
But Patrick loved the rugged life when he was young and free.

With his shotgun for protection against hungry wolf and bear
In the wilds of wild Oregon danger lurked everywhere
He told of the hungry bear he shot to death that roused him from his sleep
And of how it took him five hours the next day to round up all his sheep.

The west was wild and rugged Pat Looney told us so
For he herded sheep in Oregon some eighty years ago
With his shotgun for protection and his pack horse and his dog
And we marvelled at his stories around the burning log.